A director of a care home agency based in south-east England has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after being found guilty of repeatedly employing immigrants from India with no right to work in the UK. Benoy Thomas was convicted after a trial at Lewes Crown Court in July and sentenced on Friday, the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
The 50-year-old was found to have recruited Indian nationals to work as care assistants through his A Class Care Recruitment Ltd at Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex, despite being aware of their illegal migration status. “Benoy Thomas knowingly breached immigration laws by employing people who had no right to work in the UK,” Katie Samways, Specialist Prosecutor for CPS South East, said in a statement.
“Many of those he illegally employed were working with some of the most vulnerable people without adequate training or medical expertise, putting the safety and well-being of those who needed care at significant risk. “The Crown Prosecution Service will continue to prosecute those who exploit our immigration system,” she said. An investigation by Immigration Enforcement, an agency of the UK Home Office, determined that Thomas assisted the “unlawful immigration” of 13 individuals between 2017 and 2018.
